REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. -- Years long conversations surrounding offshore wind projects continued on Tuesday in a special Rehoboth Beach city commissioners meeting, and while plenty of information was shared about the new innovations, there were also plenty of conflicting opinions shared regarding how they could impact Delmarva's coastline.
Representatives from renewable companies like Orsted, Boem, and U.S. Wind shared stats and numbers projecting the addition of wind turbines off the area's shore within the next few years. They included benefits like energy, jobs and local investment in their presentations. Mike Dunmyer, a development manager for U.S. Wind, says construction on turbines along Delaware's coast could being in 2024. His company expects the turbines to power nearly 340,000 homes in the area, many of them in Sussex County.
"We are confident that we can develop this wind farm and operate it safely and responsibly with negligible to no negative impact on local ecosystems and wildlife," Dunmyer told WBOC.
However, for Ocean City officials, it's not about the ecosystem or wildlife, but potential negative impacts on viewshed and tourism. OC mayor Richard Meehan and city manager Terry McGean used their time urged people to think about how drastically the addition of wind turbines would change the ocean natural beauty.
David Stevenson with Caesar Rodney Institute shared similar viewpoints during his presentation, and encouraged people to consider if wind turbines are the best source of renewable energy.
"It's gonna be a wall of turbines from Cape Henlopen State Park to the bottom end of Ocean City," Stevenson said. "A 50 mile, 10-mile thick wall of turbines. Once they're there, they're there."
Rehoboth Beach commissioners say they were pleased with the information communicated and differing viewpoints debated at Tuesday's meeting.
"I'm very much looking forward to hearing from some of the experts that we have in our community," commissioner Edward Chrzanowski said. "We've got an environment committee that will be looking at all of the resources that we received today, as well as a beach and boardwalk committee, and those two committees will help make recommendations to the mayor and commissioners on any measures or positions we might be able to take to help our state and federal government deal with these projects."
Researchers cited climate change and sea level rise as the prime motivation for the offshore wind projects. They say discussion about cleaner forms of energy is more important now than ever -- as tidal flooding becomes more prominent on Delmarva's beaches.